North Carolina
Trump plans to address national security in Asheboro, his second visit to NC in a week
Former President Donald Trump plans to talk about national security when he visits North Carolina on Wednesday, highlighting an area where he has substantially more experience — but has also courted more controversy — than his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president attracted criticism among former intelligence and national security officials for isolationist policies and for appearing to cozy up to leaders of foreign adversaries. Before this year’s primary elections, his former national security advisor called Trump’s style of governance a threat to national security.
Trump was also charged with endangering national security by taking classified military documents after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. The government’s case against Trump was dismissed last month by a Trump-appointed federal judge. The U.S. Department of Justice under Biden is seeking to reinstate the charges.
Most Republicans are expected to support Trump in November. But the speech, to be held in Asheboro, comes as Democrats and former Republicans who oppose Trump seek to woo national security-minded unaffiliated voters and Republicans in a state with some of the nation’s biggest military installations. It’s Trump’s second North Carolina visit in a week; he was previously in Asheville to talk about the economy.
North Carolina Republican Party leaders have sought to boost Trump by knocking Biden.
Chairman Jason Simmons said Tuesday that Biden has done a poor job of conducting foreign policy, and he wants Trump back.
And as Democrats are now seeking to play up the role Harris has played in Biden’s administration on issues including foreign policy — an arena in which the former U.S. senator and state attorney general from California has limited experience — Republicans are likewise seeking to tie her to their criticisms of Biden.
“We saw in the last three-and-a-half years the chaos that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden put on us, on this country,” Simmons said. “Especially what we’ve seen with our country, where we have a broken economy, a broken border and a broken world. Where we see Iran being able to, with its proxies, invade and being able to bomb Israel, one of our best partners in the Middle East. We have Russia and Ukraine, and China, watching the whole time. We are scared.”
A top Biden administration official, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, told WRAL in advance of Trump’s Asheboro speech that he has watched Harris engage in foreign policy in her role as vice president. He said she’s done a good job helping rebuild relationships with world leaders who became more cautious of the U.S., following Trump’s presidency.
“I’ve sat at her side as she engaged leaders from around the world, and has done a lot already to restore the respect for the US that was badly undermined during the Trump years,” Buttigieg said. “And that’s going to be especially important in things like defending democracy against the aggression of Vladimir Putin.”
A Pew Research Center survey in 2023 found America’s image in foreign countries has improved since Biden took over for Trump — and not just in Europe, but also Asia, Africa and South America.
Immigration as national security risk
As Trump seeks to return to office, he has sought to engage voters by broadening the scope of national security — which traditionally has focused on foreign policy issues — to include immigration enforcement at the country’s Southern border. For instance, Trump falsely claimed last year that Islamist terrorists are “pouring” across the border.
“He tries to make immigration the No. 1 national security risk,” Meredith College political science professor David McLennan said ahead of Trump’s speech. “He talks about it as being more significant than any international foe that we might think about. So he talks about drugs coming across the border, gangs coming across the border, ISIS coming across the border.”
Immigration is a key issue for conservative voters; a WRAL News poll in March found it was the single biggest issue for Republicans this year, beating out the economy for the top spot.
It’s possible that GOP officials are trying to take an issue their base is highly engaged in and tie it to national security — an issue some Trump opponents see as one of his biggest weaknesses.
“Among his supporters, that’s national security,” McLennan said of Trump’s immigration talking points.
Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson, who has become one of the nation’s leading “Never Trump” voices through his group The Lincoln Project, told WRAL earlier this month his group is preparing to start targeting what he calls “national security Republicans” in North Carolina. The state has an above-average population of veterans; Fayetteville and Jacksonville are home to two of the world’s largest military bases in the U.S. Army’s Fort Liberty and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune.
The Lincoln Project messaging, Wilson said, will be aimed at veterans and fans of Reagan-era foreign policy with ads about Trump’s isolationist foreign policy stances, relationship with Putin and his comments about veterans.
Trump has repeatedly been accused of mocking or criticizing veterans killed in action or taken prisoner, including by his former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Most recently Trump downplayed the Congressional Medal of Honor, saying that since many soldiers who receive it are dead or maimed, it pales in comparison to a different award that’s often given to celebrities, athletes and politicians.
Wednesday’s speech offers Trump a chance to ask voters to look past his more controversial statements and scandals, and instead trust that he’ll deliver the kind of stances they want to see in a president, said Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political scientist.
“He needs to lay out a plan,” Cooper said. “He needs to stay on message. He needs to be a little more disciplined. I think the possibility is there. It’s an area where voters, on average, trust the Republican Party more.”
Trump’s record as president
Trump’s one term as president was notable for the departures he took from standard U.S. foreign policy. He was a frequent critic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and he has indicated that if reelected he will pull the U.S. out of NATO — unless European members of the alliance pay more money into its operations.
The dissolution of NATO is considered a key goal of Putin. So, too, is Trump’s repeated indication that he might end U.S. aid to Ukraine if he returns to the White House, amid that country’s invasion by Russia.
In the early days of Trump’s presidency, he faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike after allegedly revealing highly classified military intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak. Trump was also pressured into firing his first national security advisor, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, for Flynn lying about separate conversations he had with Kislyak. Flynn later pleaded guilty to a felony as part of the probe into Trump’s Russian ties by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was also convicted as part of that probe. Trump pardoned both men after losing the 2020 election.
In the Middle East, Trump presided over military actions that led to the deaths of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The latter assassination was praised by foreign policy hawks; it has also coincided with Iran becoming more aggressive in backing attacks against international shipping via its allies in the Yemen-based Houthi movement, and also against U.S. ally Israel via Hamas, the Iranian-backed group that rules the Gaza Strip.
Trump also signed a peace treaty with the Taliban during his final year in office, paving the way toward the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan during Biden’s first year in office — an act that saw the end of America’s 20-year-long military presence in the country. The withdrawal also drew criticism as being rushed and chaotic, particularly after suicide bombers killed 13 U.S. military members and dozens of Afghan civilians during the final days of America’s military presence there.
McLennan said he’ll be interested to watch whether Harris focuses on other issues as she goes up against Trump for the presidency, or if she leans into highlighting their differences on foreign policy. Harris is expected to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president during this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“Biden had some problems with the military because of the Afghanistan withdrawal and some other topics,” he said. “Harris tends to not be very vocal, and that’s what I’m watching for in her nomination acceptance speech: Does she talk at all about national security? Or is she going to give Trump that space?”
Laura Leslie, Jack Hagel, Brian Murphy and Paul Specht of the WRAL state government team contributed reporting.
ELLERBE, N.C.. (AP) — Andre The Giant, a towering menace in the wrestling ring but a gentle giant on the movie screen, is being honored with a roadside marker in his beloved adopted small town in North Carolina.
Officials plan to unveil the marker Thursday in Ellerbe, North Carolina, a community of about 1,000 people where the wrestler born Andre Rene Roussimoff lived on a ranch just outside town.
Andre was billed at 7-foot-4 (2.24 meters) and 520 pounds (236 kilograms) during his time wrestling for the WWE in the 1970s and 1980s.
A larger than life villain, Roussimoff was touted as unbeatable until he faced Hulk Hogan in a match in 1987 at WrestleMania III that launched the once regional wrestling company into a nationwide entertainment force.
Later that year, Roussimoff appeared on film as the giant Fezzik in “The Princess Bride.” Fezzik was the gentle-hearted muscle for the antagonist and needed rhymes to remember his instructions.
Roussimoff was born in France. But as he wrestled around the U.S. South he fell in love with the region, buying his North Carolina ranch and raising cattle on his land about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Charlotte.
He became a critical part of the Ellerbe community. In 1990, he taped TV and radio spots against a possible low-level radioactive landfill nearby. A pair of his size-26 cowboy boots are kept at a museum.
Roussimoff died in 1993 at age 46 in France where he was visiting for his father’s funeral. They had a service for him there, but his body was cremated and his ashes spread at his beloved ranch.
The Richmond County marker at NC Highway 72 and Old NC Highway 220 simply says “Andre The Giant. 1946-1993. Actor and professional wrestler. Was born Andre Roussimoff. Known for role in The Princess Bride in 1987. Lived nearby.”
North Carolina
NC State’s 2026 Atlantic hurricane forecast calls for an average season with 12 to 15 named storms
North Carolina State University is calling for a fairly average 2026 Atlantic hurricane season similar to recent years.
Researchers predict:
- 12 to 15 named storms (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 15 storms)
- 6 to 9 hurricanes (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 7 storms)
- 2 to 3 major hurricanes (the average between 1994 to 2025 is 4 storms)
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Look for WRAL’s hurricane season outlook airing May 18.
NC State’s forecast was released on Wednesday by Lian Xie, a professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences.
Xie and researchers are calling for 1-3 named storms and 1-2 hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea (slightly below recent averages) and 2-5 named storms and 1-2 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico (near recent averages).
Researchers at Colorado State University released their Atlantic hurricane season outlook earlier this month, pointing to a slightly below-normal year ahead and calling for 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
A top North Carolina lawmaker who suffered a stunning upset in his primary election last month spoke publicly about the result Tuesday, blaming the loss on political opponents across the aisle.
North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger — who has led the chamber since 2011 — lost the Republican primary for his seat to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by 23 votes, one of the closest elections in state history. Berger conceded defeat in a March 24 statement after a machine recount and partial hand recount yielded no change in Page’s lead.
Berger discussed the experience with reporters Tuesday after lawmakers convened for a short legislative session in Raleigh. Asked what message voters sent him in the primary, Berger said: “Democrats like to vote in some Republican primaries. That’s the message.”
Berger didn’t elaborate on his explanation. Registered Democrats are only allowed to take Democratic ballots in primary elections. But unaffiliated voters are allowed to participate in a party primary of their choice. Berger didn’t suggest changes to that law, but he mentioned possible examination of other election laws.
He said lawmakers should reconsider the number of days North Carolina allows for early voting in primaries. In-person early voting started on Feb. 12 and ended Feb. 28.
“Seventeen days of early voting just seemed pretty excessive and it really stresses the local boards of elections,” Berger said. Some county election boards struggle to find daily staffing for all of their voting sites in the early voting period, he said.
Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, called Berger’s comments “an insult to his district and an affront to our democracy.”
“The voters sent him a clear message,” Batch said. “It’s time he accept it and get back to work to finish the job he still has, while he still has it. Pass a budget.”
State lawmakers haven’t adopted a comprehensive state budget since 2023. They were expected to do so last year, but Berger and Republican House Speaker Destin Hall have been at odds over a range of issues, including tax policy, Medicaid funding, and other line items affecting billions of dollars in state funding.
Berger said Tuesday that he and Hall were on the verge of a spending agreement for Medicaid, the government-funded health insurer for people who are young, impoverished or disabled. Republican legislators plan to approve Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s $319 Medicaid request, while adding guardrails and oversight measures to prevent fraud and waste.
To strike the deal, Berger said Tuesday that he had agreed to postpone discussions about funding for a massive new children’s hospital. The 2023 budget authorized about $320 million over three fiscal years for North Carolina Children’s Health — a partnership between UNC Health and Duke Health — to open in Apex in 2032. About $216 million has already been spent. Hall has said his caucus wants to reconsider the final installment of funds, about $103 million, while Berger has called on House leaders to release the money.
“We’ve agreed to move the discussion of whether or not the House is going to honor the agreement they made in 2023 to the full budget discussion,” Berger said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Hall told reporters that progress had been made on negotiating children’s hospital funding.
“It’s not resolved yet,” Hall said. “I think there’s some questions about how much more money it’s going to need exactly in order to be a viable project. And so, you know, those discussions continue.”
Those budget negotiations are ongoing, but Berger said recent conversations have given him reason to be optimistic. “We’re having conversations,” he said. “They are substantive. They haven’t gotten us to an agreement yet, but we are continuing to talk, continuing to exchange ideas,” Berger said.
Hall described budget talks similarly: “The trajectory is good [enough] to where we’re very likely to get a budget done, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Berger said that, in the final months of his term, he wants to focus on policies that make North Carolina a top destination for businesses.
“I’d like to continue the progress that we’ve made over the years in making North Carolina number one state for business and making North Carolina a competitive state in terms of our tax climate and our regulatory climate,” Berger said, adding that he wants to boost education funding as well.
Addressing property taxes
House and Senate Republicans are also offering separate proposals for limiting property taxes in North Carolina.
House Republicans are pursuing a constitutional amendment that would give the state more control over how much cities and counties can raise property taxes. On Tuesday, Berger said he doesn’t think there’s a consensus on the proposed amendment and noted that it would take several months to enact into law. Voters must approve constitutional amendments at the polls in order for them to become law.
“It’s a start that we can look at,” Berger said of the proposed constitutional amendment. “But that, by itself, would not actually go into effect until after the voters approve it, if they approve it, and then the legislature actually passes some sort of legislation.”
Berger said he plans to introduce a bill that freezes municipal property tax revaluations for 12 months while legislators study the issue further.
“We’ve got to do something,” Berger said. “I just don’t know that there’s consensus as to what that something is.
“The best thing that we can do at this point is just call a timeout and give the legislature an opportunity to try to review whatever proposals might be out there.”
-
News26 minutes agoWho is John Phelan, the US Navy Secretary fired by Pete Hegseth?
-
New York2 hours agoMamdani Considers Delaying Pension-Fund Payments to Ease Budget Gap
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoThings to do in Metro Detroit, April 24 and beyond
-
San Francisco, CA3 hours agoCA to open 3 new state parks and expand others, including in Bay Area: Here’s where
-
Dallas, TX3 hours agoWild vs. Stars Game 3: Key takeaways as Dallas takes series lead on Wyatt Johnston’s 2OT winner
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoMiami-Dade deputies detain elderly father who they say shot and killed his son after a domestic dispute
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoBoston has one of the best public markets in the country, says USA TODAY
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoRed flag fatigue? Colorado sees near-record number of critical fire days